Tire-casing spreading and inspecting machine



y 1945- R. G. STOEHR 2,375,595

TIRE-CASING SPREADING AND INSPEGTING MACHINE Filed July 21, 1944 5Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

May 1945- R. G. STOEHR 2,375,595

TIRECASING SPREADING AND INSPECTING MACHINE Filed July 21, 1944 5Sheets-Sheet 2 INVEN TOR.

7Z0Zh/ Gfffae' 1 y 1945- R. G. STOEHR 2,375,595

TIRE-CASING SPREADING AND INSPECTING MACHINE Filed July 21, 1944' 5Sheets-Sheet 3 May 1945. R. e. STOEHR 2,375,595

TIRE-CASING SPREADING AND INSPECTING MACHINE Filed July 21, 1.944 5Sheets-Sheet 4 IN V EN TOR.

y R. G. STOIEHR 2,375,595

TIRE-CASING SPREADING AND INSPECTING MACHINE Filed July 21, 1944 5Sheets-Sheet 5 IN V EN TOR.

Patented May 8, 1945 TIRE-CASING SPREADING AND- INSPEOIING MACHINE RollaG. Stoehr, Chatham, Ontario, Canada, asslgnor to Weaver ManufacturingCompany,

Springfield, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application July 21, 1944,Serial No. 546,040 3 Claims. (01. 154 9) The current invention concernscertain novel and beneficial changes and modifications in tirecasingspreaders, whereby to obtain heretofore unavailable substantialstructural and functional advantages.

One object of the invention is to provide satisfactory and emcient meansfor lifting or elevating the tire-casing up to the spreading portion ofthe mechanism with practically no expenditure of material manual effortand to be able also to lower the examined tire-casing again to the flooror ground with ease and facility.

A further aim of the invention is to hold the tire-casing from tippingover sidewise, when supported on the rollers of the spreader part of themachine, by a portion of such casing-elevating mechanism.

An added purpose of the invention is to supply a machine of thespecified character which will function efficiently with all ordinarysizes of tirecasings without substantial adjustment of any part, suchtire inch sizes ranging from 4 /2 x 21 to 14 x 24 x 16 ply, thespreading being as much as 15 inches, the machine being also capable ofproperly handling tractor tire-casings of any size up to 14 inches incross-section, although it is to be understood that the machine could bemade of larger size for satisfactory operation on casings of stillgreater dimensions.

As to the casing expanding or dilating part of the machine, one novelfeature therein resides in the fact that the means for actuating thetirecasing spreader-hooks and the means for operatirig a casing-treadinverter or deformer are independently operable.

Another innovatory feature of the structure incorporating the presentinvention is the reality that, when the tire-casing is being distendedby the expanding hooks engaging its beads, the latter gradually lower,but the travel of the hooks is parallel to the action of the operatingcompressed-air cylinder and piston, or ram means, whereby the powerconsumed is maintained as low as the amount of work performed willpermit.

The use of dual compressed-air cylinders-andpistons to actuate suchspreader-hooks is also of distinct advantage in that they may bepositioned to better practicality than where a single cylinder and itspiston are employed for performing the same function.

A supplemental advantage in the new structure is that the opposedtire-casing spreader-arms are controlled by equalizing-means causingthem at all times to operate at equal distances the center of thetire-casing tread inverting or deforming ram.

Also due to the fact that the machine is engineered to operate atmaximum efficieney, the amount of compressed-air used for its operationis economical and the pressure required is readily available.

The manner in which the foregoing and other distinct benefits andadvantages are attained will be understood from the followingdescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawingsillustrating a present, preferred embodiment of the invention and in theseveral views of which the same mechanical parts have been designated bylike reference characters.

In these drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the machine;

Figure 2 is a similar view after the elevating cradle of the appliancehas received a tire-casing at substantially floor level;

Figure 3 is an analogous showing of the mechanism with thelifting-cradle and its contained tire-casing in partly elevatedposition;

Figure 4 is a corresponding presentation of the appliance but with thecradle in its uppermost position and with thetire-casing supported onthe rollers of the spreading part of the machine;

Figure 5 illustrates the apparatus and a smaller ize tire-casing spreadthereby and without the use of the lifting-cradle;

Figure 6 is a vertical cross-section through the' appliance, depictingthe spreader-hooks and their operating and equalizing means; and

Figure '7 is a fragmentary horizontal section through the machine.

, Referring to these drawings, it will be noted that the compound andcooperative tire-casing lifting and spreading appliance includes a framehaving a base with a pair of parallel, horizontal, side floor-bars 21,2| and an intervening, flat platform 22, such base rigidly supportingfour, upstanding columns or bars 23, 23, and 24, 24 curved at theirupper ends, the one pair 23, 23 being fixedly joined together by a plate25, and the other pair 24, 24 being in like manner connected together bya comparable plate 26, these two plates being fastened or boltedtogether in a manner set forth hereinafter, whereby the frame, as awhole, possesses adequate rigidity and strength to withstand all strainsto which it may be subjected in service.

A cross rod or shaft 21 occupies aligned holes i in the top ends of thecompanion posts 23, 23

and by means of cotter-pins ties such ends tofrom gether, and, insimilar manner, a spindle 0r arbor site ends of the transverse,horizontal shaft or rod 28 at their upper ends are two, parallel,spaced-apart bars 32, 32 fixedly joined together at their lower ends bya tube 33 welded at its\ ends thereto, and also welded to such parts 32,32

and 33 are a pair of normally-upright bars or arms 34, 34 equidistantthroughout, a U-shape yoke or saddle 35 having its sides welded to thetwo pairs of bars 32, 32 and 34, 34 as shown at points intermediatetheir length, these various united elements constituting a hinged cradleor carrier into which the tire-casing to be tested may be easily rolledby hand over the tube 33 into engagement with the confining andsupporting yoke or saddle 35, all as is clearly illustrated,

to be supported by the members 33 and 35 and maintained in uprightposition by the parts 32, 32, and 34, 34.

In order to rock or swing this cradle and its contained tire-casingupwardly around the axis of the shaft or rod 28 to the supportingrollers of the testing and inspecting part of the mechanism and to lowerthe tire-casing to the ground or floor again, a pair of parallel,combined, compressed-air cylinders 36, 36, their contained pistons orplungers (not shown) and their pistonrods 31 are arranged for operativemovement by being rockingly mounted at the lower ends of the twocylinders 36. 36 on rod or shaft 3|, the two piston-rods 31, 31 beinghinged at intermediate points 38 on the sides of the yoke 35 (Figure 4).

The compressed-air simultaneously enters the lower portions of suchcylinders 36, 36 below their pistons through flexible conduits 33, 39 byfootdepression of pedal 4| and such air is allowed to exhaust or escapefrom the cylinders by actuation of pedal 42 to permit descent of theelevated cradle and its contained tire-casing, all as will be readilyunderstood by those skilled in the art, whereupon the inspected casingcan be readily rolled out of the cradle on to the floor or ground.

The spreader and inspection or examination portion of the applianceincludes two, horizontal, spaced-apart, parallel, revoluble, tire-casingsupporting-rollers 43 and 44, the former on shaft or rod 21 and thelatter on shaft or spindle 28, on to which the tire-casing in theelevated or lifted cradle may be manually rolled and maintained invertical relation by the side-members of the cradle between which thetire-casing remains as. illustrated in Figure 4.

'At each of the opposite'sides of the machine (Figures 1 and 6) is apair of upright, parallel tubes 45, as hinged on the base at 4s, 4s,permitting them to swing or rock toward and from the plane of thesupported tire-casing, such tubes at the two sides being in registercrosswise the machine, one pair of such tubes 45, 45 having a horizontalcross rod or shaft 41 welded to the outer-faces of the tubes, thiselement 41 having rockingly mounted thereon, outwardly beyond the hingedtubes 45, 45, a pair of bearings 48, 48 welded to the ends of twin,horizontal, parallel, separated compressed-air cylinders 43, 43, the

companion pair of hinged tubes 45, 45 at the other side of the machinehaving welded thereto a cross-rod 5| at the same height as thecorresponding member 41, and similarly rockingly connected at 52, 52 tothe protruding ends of the piston-rods 53, 53 of the pistons 54, 54 inthe cylinders 43, 49, the latter accommodating coiled springs 55, 55between the pistons and one endwall of the cylinders to restore thepistons automatically to their inoperative positions near the otherend-wall of the cylinders when permitted to do so.

The compressed-air for actuating this portion of the apparatus entersthe ends of the two cylinders 43, 43 through flexible-tubes 56, 56 underthe control of the foot-operated pedal 51, the discharge of thecompressed-air from the cylinders being governed by pedal 58, all aswill be readily understood.

The open top ends of each pair of hinged tubes 45, 45 slidinglyaccommodate two plungers or rods 6|, 6| (Figure 4) carrying inregistered apertures in their flattened tops a rod 62 on the extendedends of which are hinged the spaced arms 63, 63 of a double hook-member,characterized as a whole 64, adapted to engage rockingly over theopposite beadsor edges of the tire-casing to be subjected to itsinspection.

In order that these two, oppositely disposed, spreader, bead-engaginghooks 64, 64 may always travel equal distances in opposite directionsfrom the middle plane of the machine and the tirecasing thereon, thefollowing equalizers are employed:

Mounted vertically on the base of the machine, centrally with relationto the tire-casing supporting-rollers 43, 44 and directly below thecenter of the tire-casing supported thereon, is a fifth uprightcompressed-air cylinder 55, and fixed to the opposite sides of suchcylinder in the plane of its axis and secured to the plates 25 and 26and in register or alignment with one another are a pair of stationarylevel rods or shafts 66, 66, each of which has rockingly mounted thereonthe center of an oscillatory arm 61 (Figure 6) whose opposite ends areconnected by a pair of equal-length links 68, 68 to corresponding points69, 63 on the hinged tubes 45, 45 of the same transverse pair,

Cylinder 65 houses a piston or plunger and its spring, neither of whichis shown, since they are similar to the illustration of Figure 6, thetop end of the piston-rod carrying centrally beneath the bottom of thetire-casing a suitably-formed or curved presser, reverser, inverter, orram-head 1| to press or force upwardly and invert the lower spreadportion of the tire-casing as is well understood in the art, theelevation of such presser being controlled by the admission ofcompressedair into cylinder 65 beneath its plunger by pedal 12 and thedescent of the plunger or presser being governed by the discharge of theair by the use of pedal 13, all as will be readily comprehended.

In addition, the appliance is equipped with an upstanding, curved rod 14against which a smallsize tire-casing may rest sidewise while beingspread or opened up when the lifting cradle is not employed, such rodcarrying an adjustable electric-lamp 15 to assist in the tireexamination.

For a heavy or large size tire-casing, the appliance is used as followsassuming that the lifting cradle is in its lowermost position:

The casing is rolled by hand over tube 33 into the cradle as indicatedin Figure 2 and is supported therein by elements 88 and 35 beingprecluded from falling over laterally or sidewise by the sustainingmembers 32, I and 34.

Upon depression of pedal 4| by the operator. air under suitable pressureis admitted into both cylinders 36, 36 in equal amounts, 'eir pistons orplungers ascend rocking the cradle and its casing upwardly around theaxis of the stationary rod or shaft 28 until the tire contacts roller44, or is partially rolled over such roller, but not enough to allow itto continue travel forwardly by itself over and beyond the roller, asshown by the dotted circle in Figure 4, Figure 3 portraying the cradleand casing during such upward travel and Figure 4 depicting the finallimit of travel of the cradle.

Then the tire is manually rolled over supporting roller 44 until it isentirely sustained on the two rollers 43 and 44, as illustrated in fulllines in Figure 4, in which position it is nevertheless precluded fromfalling over sidewise by the cradle.

Thereupon the two, opposed double-hooks 64, B4 are lifted suflicientlyto allow them to be applied over the opposite beads of the tire-casingwhich is done.

Now the operator, by depressing pedal 51, admits compressed-air into thetwo horizontal cylinders 49, 49 resulting in the spreading apart orseparation of the two hooks in equal degree outwardly and in thecorresponding opening of the tire-casing at that location forinspection.

If, upon examination, it is found that this is not the damaged area ofthe casing, the air is released from the cylinder by downward rocking ofpedal 58 causing the hooks to cease their casing opening function,.whereupon the casing is turned by hand on its axis on its supportingrollers 43, 44 to bring a new zone of the interior thereof into placefor inspection, upon the completion of which the hooks are caused toenlarge that part of the tire-casing for observation, and so on untilthe injured part of the tire-casing is discovered.

This having been accomplished, and such section maintained opened up bythe hooks, and then depending upon the size of the casing and its numberof fabric-plies, the presser or inverter ll may or may not be availedof, and if employed, the workman actuates foot-lever E2 to introduce airunder pressure into cylinder 65 which action causes its piston andpiston-rod to elevate the fashioned block or inverter H to deform orreverse upwardly that portion of the tire-casing spread open by thehooks to facilitate more minute observation of the injury and to permitits eflicient remedy.

When the tire-casing is large in size and of many plies in thickness,such as those used on trucks, the tire-manufacturers recommend that thecasing be not inverted or bulged upwardly for servicing because ofpossible damage to the heavy tread, and in those instances the inverterand its ram-operating means would not be emspread by or held spread bythe bead-engaging hooks.

The damaged portion of the casing having been discovered and repaired,or if the injured part is to be renewed elsewhere, the casing is by handrolledback over roller 44 into the cradle and the latter and its load isallowed to descend to the floor by actuation of pedal 42 which permitsescape vof the air from the companion'cylinders 36, 36 whose expulsiontherefrom by their pistons is due to the weight of the cradle and itscontents forcing them down.

The cradle having been thus restored to its original low or floorposition, the tire-casing is easily and readily rolled out thereof bythe operator.

In the case of light-weight, relatively-thin tirecasings, such as arecommonly used on passengercars, it is not always necessary or desirableto lift them into place by actuation of the cradle, since they can withfacility be elevated into posit-ion on the rollers 43 and 44 by hand andbe maintained upright by hearing sidewise against the standard I4,whereupon all of the benefits afforded by the inspection and examinationappliance can be availed of to advantage.

By using two, horizontal, crosswise cylinders 49 and their associatedpistons 54 to actuate the spreader-hooks, at least two distinctadvantages accrue.

They can be positioned at a higher elevation with relation to thelocations where the hooks engage the casing-beads than would be possiblewere a single cylinder and piston employed directly beneath the centerof the casing-tread with the beneficial result that the power is appliedto the hooks approximately in line with their direction of travel andspace is also provided for the ram-operated inverter or casing deformer.

The other advantage is that less power is required to actuate thespreader-hooks when the operating force is so applied.

Those skilled in this art will readily appreciate that the invention, asdefined by the appended claims, is not necessarily limited andrestricted to the precise and exact details of structure andfunctionherein set forth and that reasonable modifications may be resorted towithout departure from the heart and essence of the invention andwithout the loss or sacrifice of any of its material benefits andadvantages.

I claim:

1. In a tire-casin spreader having means to support the casing inupright position, hooks engageable with the beads of the supportedcasing, and actuating-means for said hooks to temporarily spread theirengaged portion of the casing, the novel improvement being that saidactuating-means includes means at opposite sides of the tire-casingmovable toward and from the supported casing and each having one of thehooks mounted thereon, a pair of parallel spacedapart compressed-aircylinders, pistons in said cylinders, means connecting each cylinder toone of said movable-means and its piston to the other movable-means, andmeans controlling the admission of compressed-air into and its dischargefrom said cylinders.

2. The novel improvement set forth in claim 1 including the additionalnovel improvement of means associated with said two movable-means toequalize their travels toward and from the tire-casing.

3. In a tire-casing spreader having a base, means to support the casingin upright position,

hooks engageable withxthe casing beads, and operating-means for saidhooks to temporarily spread their engaged portion of the casing, thenovel improvements being that said operatingmeans includes uprightmembers at opposite sides of the casing and hinged at their lower endsto the base of the spreader, a pair of horizontal elements fastened atthe same height; to said members, a pair of parallel spaced-apartcylinders, a pair of spring-retracted pistons operative 1 in saidcylinders, means connecting said cylinders and pistons to said elements,control-means to admit fluid under pressure into said cylinders.

ROLLA G. STOEHR.

